Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology & Community Mental Health Program (MA)

Specialty in Latino Mental Health

Lucero Latino Mental Health Training Program

Students in the Latino Mental Health Training Program (LMHP) will complete the MSPP core curriculum for training in their degree program. In addition, they will demonstrate, or master, Spanish fluency and Latino cultural knowledge to work as competent clinicians with this diverse population. Specialty training will emphasize an awareness of the social similarities and differences among Latino groups, and an understanding of the social context of Latinos in modern American society. Graduates of the program will acquire greater sensitivity, not just to the role of culture, but also, of economics and other social factors in the developmental, emotional, relational and behavioral aspects pertinent to the mental health of Latinos.

Students can indicate an interest in the Latino Mental Health Training Program on the admissions application or during Year 1. If a student is accepted to the Latino Mental Health Training Program, the student will formally enter the program in Year 1.

Program Highlights

Intensive Spanish language training in a Spanish-speaking country during two consecutive summers, each involving a four to five-week full-immersion experience. We invite you to read our student blog to learn about our summer Spanish immersion program in Costa Rica and Ecuador.

Opportunity for Latino students to expand their cultural training in a Spanish-speaking country different from their own cultural heritage.

Extensive clinical training in field placements serving Latino patients to enhance the students’ sensitivity to the specific mental health needs of Latinos.

Several courses on Latino Mental Health.

Elective Conversational Spanish groups & cultural events.

Program Goals

To increase the number of Latino mental health service providers in the United States by providing specialized master’s and doctoral level training in clinical, counseling, and school psychology.

To provide mental health professionals (both Latino and non-Latino) with the language skills, cultural sensitivity, and clinical competence that will enable them to deliver high-quality care to Latino populations.

To train mental health leaders who can create, direct, and deliver high-quality services so as to help eliminate societal disparities that exist with regard to access and quality of mental health care.

In the News

For millions of Americans battling mental illness, the search for proper care can be long and frustrating. But for those in some ethnic communities, deep-rooted cultural stigmas and language barriers combine to make the obstacles to treatment even more formidable. In this week's FOCUS report, we look at the stigma surrounding mental illness in the Latino community and what's being done to improve access to care.

Herlinda Tin chose a psychology career following a devastating incident in high school. "One of my friends was assaulted, and I was the first person she approached after that. I had no idea what to do. i felt helpless," recalled Tin, a native of Guatemala who grew up in San Francisco. "I went to counseling with her and saw how it helped her."

The Boston Globe—Help neededIn this country, Latino psychologists are few and far between. A new program in West Roxbury aims to change that.by Vanessa E. Jones, Globe Staff | July 5, 2006

The lack of Latino psychologists in this country is affecting Hortensia Amaro. Article Tools

In addition to being a distinguished professor of health sciences at Northeastern's Bouve College of Health Sciences, Amaro founded the Mom's Project , an outpatient drug addiction program for pregnant women in Mattapan, about 16 years ago. Then 11 years ago she created Entre Familia , a residential drug treatment program in Mattapan for Latinas and their children. www.boston.com/news/globe/living.